The Dreamworld
by The ObsidianEggplant
Summary: Written for the AEC contest. Opal has one final trick up her sleeve...


**My entry for Kellycat77's AEC contest.**

* * *

THE DREAMWORLD

Holly was troubled. She found that despite her tired limbs, sleep would not come. Her thought kept wandering to Artemis, even as she threw every distracting idea she could think of at herself.

Artemis. Mud boy. Genius. Her best friend.

No, he wasn't her best friend, not anymore. The distance between them stretched too deep, with his memory loss.

She turned, glancing at the digital clock just long enough to read it. 3:59 am.

She closed her eyes, thinking final thoughts of Artemis before consciousness faded.

* * *

Artemis awoke to bright sunlight. He was on his back, staring straight up at the blinding light.

But...Artemis had a ceiling.

He sat up abruptly, taking in his surroundings with what he didn't realize were practiced eyes. He was in a small meadow, bordered by a forest on one side and a mountain range on the other. The almost path-like space continued off into the distance on both sides, bearing a strange resemblance to a human road, without the pavement.

But he was not alone.

"Holly?" He asked aloud as the elf stirred, sitting up and studying the area, in a way that reminded him surprisingly of himself. her gaze finally fell on him, and confusion overtook her features.

Suddenly, Artemis let out a yelp, and an image flashed across his vision. He was standing at a river bend, Butler at his side. It was night time, with a full moon lighting up the landscape just enough for him to recognize the being at his feet.

Holly.

And then it was gone, replaced by yet another scene. Endless white plain stretched out before him, leaving barely any clues as what was going on.

But somehow, he knew.

The arctic.

The visions came faster now, his head pounding in an effort to process them all. It puzzled him, but he couldn't spare the time to ponder the revelations as he identified them all.

Opal, the time tunnel, Butler, Juliet, the C cube, trolls, pixies, elves, Commander Root, Haven, Foaly, the ops booth...

And Holly, a cascade of different one second clips that formed a slideshow like event. Holly smiling, laughing, panicked, angry, desperate, hopeful, afraid and many emotions he couldn't understand in the given time.

Just when he thought his brain might explode,the process came to gentle halt, leaving him only slightly dizzy as he returned to reality. He lifted his head to meet the eyes of the elf standing over him, looking concerned.

Her expression immediately changed upon the action.

"A-Artemis?" She stuttered, voice barely above a whisper, eyes wide. He tilted his head ever so slowly to the side, a silent gesture that showed his misunderstanding.

"Your eye." She said, reaching out to touch the side of his face, as if she wasn't sure he was real. "It's hazel."

It was then that he realized what the images truly were.

Memories.

A slow smile spread across his face. "Holly." He whispered, and she flinched at the depth in his words. "I remember."

She stood in stunned silence for a few second s before murmuring a single word.

"Really?"

He just nodded, unable to form actual words in response. Before he could really recover, she practically tackled him with a hug, pulling him close with enough force that he couldn't breathe.

"Holly." he choked out. "Please don't strangle me."

She pulled back, letting out a light laugh before simply muttering "Sorry."

A twig snapped off to the side, and both individuals whirled to face the sound. A painfully familiar pixie stood in front of them, smiling psychotically.

"Aww." Opal Koboi said, expression cold and confident. "How touching."

Holly let out a low, inhuman growl, while Artemis wiped his face clear of emotion, facing the enemy with a look mirroring her own.

"I'll admit," She continued, ignoring both their reactions. "I'm surprised, _Mud boy. _I didn't think you'd find a way out of that one."

"I could say the same to you." Artemis responded quickly, leaving no room for Holly to give anything away.

Opal narrowed her eyes, but it was a teasing expression. "Oh? And what kind of evil genius would I be if I didn't?"

Their silence was answer enough.

There was a pause, in which she grew more and more sure of her victory, before Artemis spoke. "Cut the crap, Opal. Where are we?"

"The Dreamworld." She said, her tone far too casual for her words.

"So," Holly spoke this time, having regained enough composure to do so rationally. "We're...dreaming?"

"Theoretically, yes." Opal's eyes flashed dangerously. "But if you die here, you die in reality, too."

Artemis was guarded as he said his next words. "And what, exactly, do you plan to do to us this time?"

Her grinned widened as she drew twin swords from her back, squaring up to them. "Guess."

Artemis's reaction was instantaneous. He pulled Holly to her feet, pulling her close enough to him that only she could hear him. "Follow my lead." Was all he had time to say before Opal lunged, bringing her blades in two, wide, vertical arcs above their heads. Holly saw the move coming and pushed Artemis to the ground before diving aside herself, LEP training kicking in as she rolled once before jumping back to her feet, setting up in a sideways ready position. Artemis scrambled to his feet in a slightly less graceful fashion, turning and stepping to the side until his back was to the mountain.

Opal smirked at him. Stupid Mud boy just doomed himself.

But Artemis took advantage of her cockiness, swinging a foot across her ankles and sending her to the ground. He looked up, nodded at Holly, and ran towards the forest.

Holly took the hint, bringing a boot down hard on Opals shoulder, causing her to cry out, though they both knew it was more in frustration than pain. She lunged with her other hand, and Holly was not fast enough this time, taking a long, deep slash down her arm. She backed up quickly, allowing the deranged pixie to stand.

The two circled each other for many moments until Opal swung again, causing Holly to spin to the side. The elf lifted a hand to hit her across the head, but was too close to the pixie. The second sword darted out in a last second maneuver, catching Holly across the midsection. She screamed, collapsing to the ground.

"Holly!" Artemis shouted, emerging breathlessly from the treeline, using both hands to support a rather large stick. Opal spun to face him, a crazed gleam in her eyes.

She lunged at him, blades spinning in moves too fast for Artemis to understand. He just held the branch out in front of him, stepping around her in an attempt to buy time.

No such luck.

Opal disarmed him with a sharp flick of her wrist, backing him up until his back was against the sheer cliff face of the mountain. She tossed her left sword behind her, wrapping both hands around the hilt of the remaining one. She raised it high above her head, ultimately aiming for Artemis's heart.

"You have no idea," She said between heavy breaths "How long I've waited for this."

She grinned a final time. "Time to die, Fowl."

He just smiled. "Guess again." He said, just as the blade came straight through her back. She crumpled, recognition dawning as she died.

Holly stood behind her, Opals left sword in her hands. Blood dripped down the front of her shirt, but all she said was; "Glad that's over."

"That was very clever, Holly." Artemis said, still smiling slightly. Then his expression darkened, and he sunk to the ground. She noticed the change immediately, and knelt to sit beside him. "What's wrong."

He sighed. "I'm worried," He confessed. "That I might lose my memory when we wake up." He looked over her shoulder and off into the distance, and she mirrored the action. Not a mile away, the world began to fade to white, like a sheet of paper wiped clean.

"Well," Holly said, turning back to face him. "Then we'll just have to give you something to remember."

Before he could react, she leaned forward, pressing her lips to his. He froze, in complete and utter shock for a few seconds before he wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer still, kissing her back. He felt her smile against his lips, and she tangled her hands in his hair, deepening it further.

They were still lip-locked when they, too, faded with the Dreamworld.

* * *

Holly was up and running before she was truly awake, thoughts of Artemis, and only Artemis, clouding her mind. She begged to every religious figure she didn't believe in as she sprinted down the halls to his rooms, hoping beyond hope that he was okay.

That he remembered.

She rounded the corner, pulling open the door to his room and walking in.

He was sitting up in his bed, smiling. Holly paused in the door frame, almost afraid, now that she was here. The need to act had been so powerful, but when the scenario itself found her, she found it surprising difficult.

But he had it covered, standing up slowly and walking over to her. He was still smiling when he pulled her into a tight hug, letting silence fill both their senses.

Holly finally spoke, cutting through the quiet like a knife, her voice panicked. "Do you still...?" She attempted to ask, but couldn't finish the sentence.

But Artemis understood.

"Remember?" He finished for her. "Yes."

That one word was all she needed. She freed herself from his embrace for a split second before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him again. He was quicker that time, reacting in turn almost instantly.

But all Holly could feel was overwhelming happiness.

She had her Artemis back.

And right then, that was all that mattered.


End file.
